The Relentless Dead

by Steve Lyons

A Death Korps Novel

The 401st Regiment has been sent to Oleris III to find an inquisitor among the catacombs of a planet decimated by a plague in years past. What they find will shake their legendary resolve. This collection also includes a short story that gives us an outsider's perspective on the Death Korps of Krieg.

READ IT BECAUSE

The Death Korps of Krieg are a fan favourite – their grinding way of war makes for stories unlike anything else we see in the Astra Militarum. This time, we have a hero's perspective in Colonel Graven, who will do anything to complete his objective, no matter what sacrifices he has to make.

THE STORY

Five hundred years ago, Oleris III was ravaged by a Chaos plague. Now it is a world of tombs and catacombs. It belongs to the dead. Colonel Graven and his 401st Krieg Regiment are charged with searching for a missing inquisitor in the bone-filled ossuary tunnels beneath the planet. But the dead are stirring, and down in the labyrinthine darkness, his kill team comes face to face with unspeakable horrors.

As whispering spectres seed fear and suspicion, turning allies into foes, the colonel has ghosts of his own to battle. Haunted by a tragedy of his own making and unable to trust anyone, even the most resolute Death Korpsman might start to doubt himself. But on this world, it could be the death of him.

Written by Steve Lyons.

Genres: Science Fiction, 40k

314 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 7, 2025

About the author

Steve Lyons is a science fiction writer, best known for writing television tie-ins of Doctor Who for BBC Books, and previously, Virgin. The earliest of these was Conundrum in 1994, and his most recent was 2005's The Stealers of Dreams. He has also written material for Star Trek tie-ins, as well as original work.

Reviews

[Dustin Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

An even deeper dive into the Krieg, really getting into their individual thoughts and emotions. The horror elements were a real nice touch.

Loved it, 5/5, hope Steve Lyons keeps writing these because I’ll keep buying them and reading them.

[Chris Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gave me a existential crisis about death

[James Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve never played Warhammer, never read any of the novels, and honestly only knew the Death Korps of Krieg as “the guys who look like World War I gas-mask ghosts.” The Relentless Dead was my first real step into the universe.

The book mixes military grit with straight-up horror. The 401st goes into bone-filled catacombs to find a missing inquisitor, and everything turns into a nightmare of ghosts, paranoia, and Krieg stoicism cracking under pressure. Even without knowing the lore, I had zero trouble following it — the atmosphere and tension do all the heavy lifting.

And the Tallyman?
Easily the scariest tally-keeper I’ve ever read — way more terrifying than Belafontes.

For a first Warhammer novel, this was a great choice: bleak, creepy, and I’m actually tempted to read more now… which feels like exactly how the Imperium gets you.

[Atz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoilers

I really loved the world-building in this book. The small, misty villages plagued by ghostly souls that come in the night to snatch villagers were incredibly atmospheric and creepy. The setting felt grim, oppressive, and perfectly suited to a Warhammer 40K horror story.

The Death Korps of Krieg were a perfect match for this kind of narrative. Their unrelenting faith, discipline, and sense of duty contrasted beautifully with the supernatural threat, and the author captured their grim mindset extremely well. Watching them confront something they couldn’t simply out attrition made for some genuinely tense moments.

The book started very strong, but unfortunately it began to fall off toward the end. Normally I don’t mind longer 40K novels, but this one started to feel repetitive...go into the tunnels, fight the enemy, retreat, and repeat. That cycle wore thin after a while and made the later sections feel stretched.

That said, the narration and characters were solid throughout, and they helped carry the story even when the plot momentum slowed. Overall a good book.

[Nikolaos Taskos · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Relentless Dead is fast, brutal and soaked in atmosphere. Steve Lyons keeps the pace high while still giving the characters enough weight to make the action matter, which isn’t always easy. It also does a solid job of giving you a feel for the Death Korps of Krieg, their mindset, discipline and determination. As a long-time Warhammer lore fan who’s newer to the novels, this felt like a great entry point: familiar in tone, easy to follow, and packed with exactly the kind of grim energy the setting does best.

[Paul Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a previous review that stated the Krieg are replaceable with any generic guard regiment, how many guard regiments would take on the Sisters of Battle? It was really interesting to see actual doubt and disobedience evinced in the death korp, I listened on audio and the narrator was superb

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was SO GOOD. Prime Warhammer horror. Lyons write the Krieg so well and it was fun seeing them use their shovels against zombie hordes. A varied array of ghouls and monsters fill this tale and we're all the better for it.

[Jackson Handley · Rating 2 out of 5]

From his own brilliant characterisation of the Krieg in Dead Men Walking to this is very disappointing. They are very replaceable by any generic guard regiment in this book.

[Maxim · Rating 5 out of 5]

The least flat and static Death Korps representation I've read to date.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Okay, so the characters did the thing they were supposed to. Wait, there are still a 100 pages left.’

Seriously though, fun and thoughtful work that show how multi dimensional the Krieg can be.